Weekly Workout Recap: Week of May 26th

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As I mentioned last week, I am going to start my weekly workout recaps again to help hold me accountable.  I am excited to be back to working out twice a day and can tell my sessions with my trainer have really made me stronger.  I can tell a difference in the pool.

Monday:

Rest.  J and I were heading back from the lake on Memorial Day.  We were on the road most of the day so I decided to take a rest day.  We instead picked out a new refrigerator. 

Tuesday:

Personal Trainer session and 8.53 mile bike ride.

My personal trainer session was much needed.  I am starting to get some stress regarding our move so I was really glad she pushed me.  We focused on a full body workout and even did some tire flipping. In the past flipping the tire was too challenging and I had to limit my reps but I made it through the entire set!  Woo hop!

After my training session, I loaded up the bike and headed to Route 66 park.  The park is near our new house so I wanted to give it a go.  It is a little under 2 miles for the loop.  So I did 4 loops and added a little bit at the end to make sure I made it over 8 miles.  I was a little slower than I had been in the past (i.e. last fall).  But I have only been on the bike once since last fall so it make sense that I was slow.  I am hoping the more I ride I will get back to my normal speed.

Wednesday:

30 Day Shred and 900 yard swim.

My training plan calls for strength training Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  (I plan to switch to 1 day a week with the personal trainer).  Since my plan called for strength training, I decided to knock out 30 Day Shred.  I did level 1 and I have to say it was easy (actually too easy).  I need larger weights but that will have to wait until after we move so I will continue doing lighter weights until that happens.  I may go to the gym and then swim to get in a better strength training workout.

The 900 yard swim was brutal.  My arms and shoulders were pretty sore from Tuesday's session with the trainer.  I powered through the swim but it wasn't good.  I can tell it has been a long time since I have been in the pool.  My first 300 was great probably one of my fastest and that was a relief.  But the next 600 was a struggle.  I wanted to do 1000 but my shoulders would have none of it.

Thursday:  

20 minute elliptical and a personal trainer session.

I kind of forgot how my legs felt when training for my first triathlon but I remember clearly now.  My legs felt tired a lot of the time.  Thursday mornings elliptical was a tiring cardio session.  My legs felt tired but as I ran they definitely loosened up.  

My personal trainer session was much better than the elliptical run.  My legs felt better but my mid back was tight.  We did some back stretches which helped.  We then did a lot of upper body moves and I left feeling refreshed.

Friday:

30 Day Shred and 1000 yard swim.

I woke up on Friday with my middle back not feeling great.  I think the mixture of packing and starting triathlon training was really draining it.  I tried to keep up my workouts but I definitely didn't push myself completely.

I knocked out 30 Day Shred and then headed to the pool.  I did swim one of my fastest 300 yards in a while and was able to swim the additional 700 yards without problem.  So that was a plus.

Saturday:

Saturday I had a run scheduled.  But J and I woke up early with J's mother then went back to bed.  When we went back to bed we ended up waking up pretty late.  I decided to cut my run because I knew I needed to start packing.  We were able to knock out a huge portion of our packing so I felt much better.

Sunday:

Bike 9.63 miles followed by a 15 minute run.

J and I headed to Route 66 park to knock out our first Brick of the training season.  We completed 9.63 miles on the bike.  I am still slower than I wanted but I felt better than I did on Tuesday's ride.  J rode lead so he pushed me a little harder especially in the headwinds.  I now have 6 weeks to get faster on the bike.

15 minute run.  I know the runs are always going to be hard after riding the bike.  But it wasn't too bad.  I am still slower than I would like but I kept my form the entire time which is really what I am most concerned about right now.  

Overall, I am really happy with my first week of knocking out two workouts a day.  I also was happy that I wasn't starving the entire time.  Last year when I trained I was hungry 24/7.  So I am hoping to do better with eating this time around.  

Total Workout Time:  3 hours 45 minutes

What workouts did you do last week?

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Summer Race Plans

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If you follow me on Instagram you may notice that I started triathlon training this week.  I have been working out but I do much better when I have an actual race.  So I knew I needed to get serious and I decided to select another sprint triathlon, because I don't think I am physically ready for a longer distance.  

I will be doing the Ballwin Triathlon on July 13th.  I have 7 weeks to get my body back in triathlon shape.  So to keep me on track, I will start posting my workout recaps on Monday to make sure I am actually doing everything!  Fingers crossed.  

So for now my summer plans looks like this:

June:

Train for the Ballwin Triathlon and move into our new house.  Did I mention J and I are moving again?  We are but this time it is permanent thank god!  We are closing on our house June 6th and the move will take the first few weeks.  It's a local move so we plan to move some of our stuff on our own.  I am either crazy or really motivated to move and train at the same time.  I expect my body to be exhausted most of the time but I will get through it.

July:

Firecracker 5000 - July 4th.  I am debating between the 5K and the 10K.  I will see how my training is going and how much I am running and make that decision when I get closer.

Ballwin Triathlon - July 13th.  Sprint triathlon - 300 m swim, 9 mile bike, and 3.4 mile run.

Start half marathon training.  J and I have signed up for the Best Damn Race Cape Coral in December, but I am considering doing a half marathon in the fall and one in the winter.  I am still up in the air on this but will be deciding soon and training will start in July.  If I decide to do one, I will be skipping the Rock n Roll after last year's back issues and going with a flatter course.  

August:

5K Foam Fest - August 16th  

I received the opportunity through Sweat Pink to become an ambassador for the Foam Fest.  Thinking about doing one of these races?  Use the code FF3396 to save on a race entry at any of these great locations!  

I would also like to find another triathlon for this month or the first part of September.  So I will be on the lookout.

What are your summer race plans?

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Blackland Triathlon Recap

I am officially a triathlete!  I did it I completed the Blackland Triathlon.  

Get ready for a long recap!  The week before the race I started to taper my training and check the weather religiously.  The weather kept showing a 30% chance of rain.  I was worried because I had never ridden my bike in the rain.  

Sunday I made a list and laid out all of my stuff for the tri.  I definitely didn't want to forget anything.

I felt pretty ready.  Sunday night I ate lots of carbs and went to bed early.  I surprisingly slept well.  I woke up early, braided my hair, had breakfast and got ready.  As I was stretching I heard the rain start.  We had planned to leave early but held off since it was raining.  

It sounded like it was clearing so I loaded my bike and made my was to the race location.  I got marked and parked the bike in transition.

About that time, it started pouring again. The kids course was to start prior to the adult tri.  The postponed their start due to rain so I knew mine would be postponed.  

J and I sat while I tried to remain calm.  I decided I was going to do it regardless of never riding in the rain.  

Finally it was time to line up and get ready to swim.  I was near the back of the line based upon my estimated swim time.  My goal was under 10 minutes for 300 meters.  I was pretty sure I could do that.

I jumped in and began my swim.  It went fairly well (slow) but steady.  I finished in 8:49.  Slow but under my goal time.  I got out of the water and headed to get I put on my camelbak, shoes, helmet, and watch then was ready to ride (T-1 - 2:50).  

I had rode the bike course several times and knew there were 2 hills that I was pretty slow on.  My goal was to finish the 15 miles in one hour.  I had hoped not to get passed on the course too often.  I felt pretty good since on the first hill I started passing people.  I took the first loop slow because I was worried about the rain.  It was also more crowded because people were on their second loop.

My second loop went much smoother.  The rain had stopped and I picked up the pace.  I finished the course in 58:41 (15.3 mph).  

After the bike course, I switched into my running shoes and started the 3.1 mile run course.  (T-2 - 1:58).

Luckily the temps were low and I had practiced the bike to run transition.  The first 1/2 mile was tough but I knew it would be.  

After the first 1/2 mile I got into a groove. It wasn't as fast as I would like my 5K time to be, but I did it.

I finished the run in 32:27 (10:28 pace).

I finished my first triathlon in 1:44:47!  I was so happy with my time! 

I had a great time and plan to do more triathlons in the future.  A huge thank you to J for being such a great photographer!

Sprint Triathlon Training Week 1

You may remember that last week I mentioned that I would be starting my sprint triathlon training and the training would take 9 weeks.  As I was traveling home last Monday from our mini vacation, I started thinking about my training and realized that I totally miscalcualted.  I had planned on starting my training on Memorial Day when I was planning to use a longer training plan.  When I switched training plans, I did not change my start date which left me with a lot more time to train.  I decided not to change my start date but to modify my training plan to start with.  I will continue following the plan but will go from moderate to minimum training until July 1st.  This will get me a lot more time practicing and will allow me to switch from the beginner plan to the intermediate plan.  So this week, I followed the plan with a few modifications.

Monday:

I was supposed to swim and do strength training Monday.  However, I was completely exhausted from our trip to Table Rock Lake and since I knew I had more time to train I took Monday off from training.

Tuesday:

AM:  30 minute bike ride

I was supposed to only bike for 30 minutes instead I biked a little longer and got in an 11.57 mile ride.  I felt pretty good and my legs felt great.  I went for 53 minutes instead of 30.

PM:  30 minute run

My run Tuesday evening didn't go very well.  The weather was kind of nasty - super hot and humid and my legs actually felt a little tired by evening.  So I ran on the elliptical instead of outside for 30 minutes and went 2.3 miles.

Wednesday:

AM:  Strength Training

I plan on getting in strength training twice a week but I just didn't feel up to it in the morning.  I had hoped to squeeze it in after my swim.

PM:  1,000 yard Swim

Wednesday's swim was the best I have felt in the pool since starting in February.  I still went slow but I didn't feel as uncomfortable as I sometimes do.  I think having a more structured workout helped as well.

Thursday:

AM:  30 minute run

One day a week will likely be limited to the elliptical for running.  I have to leave my house by 6:15 am to make it to work on time so sometimes I need to hit the snooze button from time to time.  Thursday was definitely one of those mornings.  I decided to sleep a little longer which made it impossible to run outside.  So I opted for the elliptical again (this must change for future training weeks).  I ran 2.37 miles in 30 minutes. 

PM:  30 minute bike ride

I have been riding my bike at the Oak Point Nature Preserve.  I absolutely love riding there however it sometimes causes issues with maintaining a fast speed.  Thursday night I definitely had to go slower than normal because of people on my path.  I have a feeling I will be switching to road rides sooner than I had planned.  I road 7.5 miles in 30:21 minutes.

Friday:

AM:  Strength Training

Friday is supposed to be only dedicated to swimming but since I had skipped strength training Wednesday and skipped my workout in general on Monday I decided to do a little strength training on Friday.  My strength training is going to be 30 Day Shred.  I love the workout and still can work my arms, abs, and get some cardio in.

PM:  1000 yard swim

I wasn't sure if my legs/arms were going to be able to do 1000 yards on Friday, but I made myself do it.  I went a little slower than Wednesday's swim, but I focused on using only my arms for the laps.  My arms felt sore but held up the entire time which was shocking.

Satruday:

30 Minute Run

The weather was gorgeous for my Saturday morning run unfortunately I could tell from the beginning that my legs didn't have much energy.  I had hoped to go for 45 minutes since I will be out of town next weekend but could tell immediately I could only do a 3 mile loop.  I ran 3.05 miles in 33 minutes so a nice slow pace.

Saturday we spent the day walking around so I got a little more exercise in. 

Sunday:

60 minute bike ride followed by 5 minute run

The training schedule called for a 60 minute ride, but since I am going to be out of town next weekend and will likely not get any rides in I decided to increase my time and distance.  I had planned on going 90 minutes but the path turned out to be 89 minutes.  I biked 20.24 miles.  There were parts of the path that had pedestrians that would not get out of the way which definitely caused a slower pace.  But the slower pace was definitely nice on my legs.

After the ride, I laced up my running shoes and attempted to run.  The first time I ran after the bike I wanted to die.  I only made it .53 miles and my legs felt absolutely terrible.  I wasn't sure how far I would make it or how fast I would go.  My goal was to run around the lake where I ride and to run no matter what.  I did it!  I ran 1.10 miles in 10:48 minutes.  I felt like I was moving really slow but my pace was actually better than Saturday's run.

Total:

Swim:  2000 yards

Bike:  39.31 miles

Run/Elliptical:  8.82 miles

Time:  6:05

Sprint Triathlon Training

Today, I start my official sprint triathlon training.  Since I have had such an issue with my knee and am unsure if will be able to run long distances, I decided to start triathlon training.  I am taking it easy and am going with a sprint triathlon for my first one.  My goal is to finish and not feel like I am going to die.  I read several beginner triathlon books looking for a training plan.  The plan I liked best was from Your First Triathlon Guide:  Do Your First Triathlon in 100 Days or Less.  The book offered sevearl suggestions and discounts as well as as access to a training plan.  I reviewed the plan and knew it would be a good one.  The plan starts with a moderate level of effort schedule, then maximum, and then minimum.  I like that the plan works you but doesn't kill you.  As I continue my training, I know I will be sharing the training with you.  I have 9 weeks until my triathlon and I am nervous and excited.

Here's this week's schedule:

Day/Comments	Swim	Bike	Run	Other
Monday	4 x 150 RPE 3 100 RPE 7 2 min. rest after 2	Off	Off	Aerobic or easy strength training
Tuesday	Off	30 minutes as 5 min. warm-up RPE 3 4 x 4 min. RPE 7 1 min. spin RPE 3 5 min. warm-down RPE 3	30 minutes as 5 min. warm-up RPE 3 4 x 4 min. RPE 7 1 min. RPE 3 5 min. warm-down RPE 3	Off
Wednesday	4 x 150 RPE 3 100 RPE 7 2 min. rest after 2	Off	Off	Aerobic or easy strength training
Thursday	Off	30 minutes as 5 min. warm-up RPE 3 4 x 4 min. RPE 7 1 min. spin RPE 3 5 min. warm-down RPE 3	30 minutes as 5 min. warm-up RPE 3 4 x 4 min. RPE7 1 min. run RPE 3 5 min. warm-down RPE 3	Off
Friday	4 x 150 RPE 3 100 RPE 7 2 min. rest after 2	Off	Off	Off
Saturday	Off	60 min. road ride Moderate effort RPE 5	5 min. t-run RPE 5	Off
Sunday	Off	Off	30 min. road run Moderate effort RPE 5	Off

RPE is determined by this chart:



I am hoping this week goes smoothly.  Next week, I will be out of town so I have to modify this week and next week's schedule a little.

Have you ever competed in a triathlon?